A Shadow from within the Nova
by Avret
Summary: When Kibougamine's 78th class escaped Enoshima's sadistic killing game, they thought they could finally rest. It's a shame Despair disagreed. Welcome to the danganronpa field trip. (Sequel to LiDD covering DR2 and DR:AE, spoilers for DR1, DR2, and DR:AE, rational!Naegi, somewhat AU)
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: Into the fire

XxX

Naegi

As we reached the gate of the Future Foundation's forward operating base, I took one last look behind me, making sure the other students from Kibougamine were following. I turned back to see Komaru vanishing behind a wall of soldiers, her expression calming now that we had reached the seeming safety of the Foundation's walls. Honestly, I almost couldn't believe it had been that easy. Two weeks of hellish paranoia after which Junko had escaped, and our mile-long frantic run to Future had been unmolested? It almost seemed too good to be true. There had to be something wrong. Something had to be wrong-I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder and turned to see Kyouko looking at me, concern and evaluation both clear in her gaze.

"Are you also wondering when, to be frank, the other shoe is going to drop?"

I nodded.

"It doesn't seem like Despair to give us this kind of respite. I'm expecting another attack any minute now."

She pointed back over her shoulder at Mukuro, who seemed to be checking every corner for some invisible enemy. Even from here, I could see the tension in her every movement.

"If Ikusaba's actions are anything to go by, your worry is well-founded. I wonder if she knows something we don't, or if..."

"If this war has trained her to never relax," I finished.

"Exactly."

We both fell silent, suddenly hit by the reality of our situation. We had made it out alive. Now it was time to rebuild. Moments later, she turned to face Celeste.

"I should go talk to her, now that we're safe."

"I'll leave you two alone," I grinned. Her eyes narrowed for an instant before she relaxed, mouth tilting upwards into that small smile I had grown to expect from her as she smoothly walked away.

A few seconds after Kirigiri left, Mukuro slowly strode next to me, apparently satisfied with her examinations of our surroundings. I inclined my head towards her slightly as she approached.

"We're safe, then?"

"It looks like it, though it really isn't like my sister to just leave us alone," she responded. "I still think we should be expecting something more, but I've done all I can to find it and there's nothing."

I nodded.

"On an unrelated note, there were two things I wanted to say to you."

Mukuro turned more fully to face me, eyes growing wary.

"...What?"

"First...about what we talked about in the tunnels, with Alter Ego...I'm sorry. I know I said that before, but I wanted to make sure it got across."

She visibly relaxed, a small grin materializing on her face.

"Oh, that? Don't worry, it's ok. Your choice made it clear that you regretted your actions and I forgive you. We all make mistakes."

I paused for a moment, wondering how to phrase what I wanted to say next.

"About my choice-you know more about this whole series of events than anyone. Would you have made the same choice I did?"

She froze up, muscles tensing.

"I was afraid you would ask that. The answer is...I don't know. If the buttons were before me right now, I think yes, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm biased. That even after everything Junko did, some part of me still cares for her. That some part of me still wants her alive."

She fell silent after that. I moved slightly closer to her, voice growing softer.

"Even if that's true, Mukuro, I understand. Personal attachments linger, and having them doesn't make you weak."

She laughed quietly.

"I should have known you'd say that. Past that hard exterior, you've always been soft. That's part of why-" She cut herself off midsentence, and my head tilted in curiosity.

"Part of why what?"

"Now is...not the time. Ask me again once we're securely in Future's hands." She backed slightly away, the anxiety in her face replaced with uncertainty.

A few seconds later, I caught sight of my sister walking out of a side door, and she waved me down.

"Get the others. We'll have you processed and in safer hands shortly."

XxX

Enoshima

I stride over to the machinery in the center of the room, taking note of the 13 pods already up and running. Their inhabitants were likely just reaching the waking world now-or, at least, what passed for the waking world. When Monaka told me of her and Kamukura's plans, I had to admit I was impressed. This, even for an organization like us, was a risk! A risk with such interesting opportunities at its core that I just had to let them try it out! It was a shame that the most involvement I'd have in this venture was that of an observer, but what a thing to observe...

I hear footsteps behind me, turning to see one of the technicians holding a communicator. As he hands it to me, I hear an indistinct voice from it's speakers.

"Everything is in place here. Are the others ready there?"

"They are. You'll have to rush back to make it, you know. I will not be happy if you're late."

The voice on the other end halts and stutters for a moment.

"O-of course, mistress Enoshima. The moment the others have been taken, I, the mage, and your spark will be on our way. Should I bring the mage to the machine? She has been remarkably unclear on that point."

My voice grows sharper. They're acting like Komaeda again. I swear, I have told them to stop doing that a thousand times.

"No, she stays to prepare. Also, what have I told you about acting like Hope? Stop doing it, or I will be...displeased."

Again, the voice halts, before resuming, tone far more businesslike.

"Ok, you're in a nonservile mood then. I can work with businesslike. Businesslike is good. I'll leave the mage and her segment in the city then, since you seem so sure they don't need a chaperone, and bring the rest to the machine?"

I nod.

"Exactly. Wait til the message plays before doing anything. Any good multistage despair must occur in the proper order, after all."

"Understood." The line goes dead after that, leaving me alone in the room. It seems everything is going according to plan, then. Excellent...I grin, my smile breaking out into a laugh. It was time for the world to feel Despair's touch once more.

XxX

?, inside Foundation FOB K4

A soldier sits at a computer screen, hands quickly moving over the keyboard. Files flicker onto the screen before vanishing almost as quickly. His work as processing lieutenant might not be glamorous, but it was vital to Future's continued defensive stability. Or so his commander responded whenever he complained about the lack of field postings on his record. It was difficult for him to care, honestly; the pay was good here, and the job was relaxing. His wife certainly didn't mind that he never had to stay out for days on ops jobs.

As he continues working, he hears the door open and close behind them and turns to see who it is. His eyes widen slightly.

"Karl, where the hell have you been the past three hours? That's one hell of a long 'restroom break'."

His partner looks sheepish as he responds.

"Sorry, John. My lunch didn't agree with me. Vic's taken to making all sorts of 'delicacies' with our rations and making me be the taste tester before she invites the neighbors over. You know how it is."

John laughs in response.

"Damn right I do. Maria's the same way. I mean, they mean well, even if meaning well sometimes means wheat-less meat-less beef stroganoff."

Karl snorts.

"I'd forgotten about that fiasco. Anyway, if you want, I can take the rest of your shift? Only seems right, seeing as I've left you in the lurch here."

John's eyes widen.

"You sure, Karl? That'd be really nice, but you look like you need to get all the exercise you can. Looks like not all the food's disagreeing with you, if you get my drift." He punctuates this last statement by pointing at his partner's gut.

"Hey!" Karl looks affronted. "I may not be in my prime, but I can still take you down. Anyway, being here would let me do my sister a favor. They found my kid niece in one of the abandoned apartments, and I'm supposed to fast-track her through processing."

"Yeah, sure, I'll let you take over then," John nods. "It's always good to find out one of our relatives made it."

John stands, and Karl steps toward him, something glittering in his palm. Before John can react, the knife in Karl's right hand is buried in his chest. He collapses to the floor, eyes widening in confusion and betrayal. Karl steps over his body, his voice changing, becoming more monotonic.

"Sorry, 'old friend'. If it's any consolation, your friend Karl's been dead for a while now. Consider me a great actor. Also, don't beat yourself up over missing that. This despair is bigger than any of us."

XxX

Naegi

We walked into what looked like a standard government processing room as soldiers filed out of a doorway at the far end to meet us.

"Welcome to the first segment of Refugee Processing, Forward Operating Base K4. Now, all we need from you is a brief retinal scan and choice of identifier for our comms systems. This should only take a minute and you'll be ready to start the more in depth processing. All in all the process will take between a half hour and an hour, depending on whether we find any irregularities in your evaluations. Any questions?"

We all shook our heads.

"Excellent! Now, if the seven of you would step forward to the scanners, we can begin."

My eyes widened and I froze. Seven? How were there seven? I whirled, conscious of the fact that my muscles were moving too slowly to do anything about what I knew was coming. I barely managed to catch a glimpse of a child with bluish greenish hair before my vision went black.

XxX

General Argos, Commander of the military arm of the Foundation

The commander sits at his desk, hands blurring over the pins on a map demarcating his troops. Despair had been oddly unresponsive to attacks today-their counterattacks, when there even were counterattacks, were sluggish. He had taken advantage of their failures, of course, but he couldn't help feeling like there had to be some trap here. Despair never gave up ground without a fight. As he sits and thinks, a soldier runs up to him, holding a portable video comms unit.

"Sir, we've lost all normal communications from K4. The last we heard on standard channels was that Komaru and the 78th class made it in. Besides that, all we've received was...this." He mutely holds out the communicator for inspection. Argos picks it up, and it starts playing some sort of prerecorded message spoken by what seems to be two voices in tandem.

 **"Hello, General Argos! We apologize for the inconvenience, but we found it necessary to borrow one of your facilities and several of your personnel for the foreseeable future! Of course, we recognize this may put a cramp in your war efforts! Therefore, we have incapacitated several of our own personnel of similar military value to the ones we have taken from you! We hope this does not come as a shock and we hope you will continue to provide us with the valuable distraction that you have! Remember, Despair always wins, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try!"**

With that, the message shuts off. Argos whirls towards the soldier.

"Is this all it says?"

The soldier nods.

"Get me every strike team we can pull. I need the people in there. We all do."

XxX

Naegi

I struggled awake, finding myself in what looked like some sort of dilapidated apartment building. I glanced left and right quickly to find what looked to be three other people. One of them struggled awake, pulling herself upright.

"M-makoto, is that you?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, Mukuro. Any idea who the other two are?"

She looked over at the other unconscious bodies, one of whom seemed to have several small lumps moving up and down it's sleeves.

"I know exactly who they are. Why they're here, on the other hand, I don't know. And that terrifies me."

XxX

Kirigiri

I wasn't sure which woke me first. The incessant tapping on my shoulder, the warm breeze on my face, or what felt like sand rubbing the back of my neck. Whatever it was, I slowly opened my eyes to see an unfamiliar group standing over me. I sat up quickly, looking to my left and my right. A boy with almost white-blond hair and mildly unsettling gray eyes stepped forward from the group, motioning for me to relax.

"Hey, it's ok. Your friends are all waking too. You don't need to worry. You're safe here." He companionably extended a hand to me.

I took his hand, gingerly pulling myself upright.

"Forgive me if I'm a little uncertain of that. Who are you, and where are we?"

He shrugged.

"We're students of Kibougamine, apparently on some sort of field trip. I'm not really sure where we are or how we got here, but the weather's beautiful, so why worry? This certainly lives up to all the stories."

I paused, muscles tensing.

"I'm sorry, did you say you were students of Kibougamine Academy?"

He nodded again, looking nervous.

"Yeah, did I say something wrong?"

"Who are you specifically?" My hands tensed, ready to launch into action.

"I'm the SDHS Good Luck, but you can call me Nagito Komaeda. I'm sure we will be great friends!"

Before I could respond, I heard something I thought I would never hear again. The voice of a monokuma chassis.

" **Hell~lo new students!"**

A/N: Damn, it has been far too long! I apologize for the delay, but I have had a terrible case of writer's block which only just now lifted! Hopefully I'll be back to some kind of normal update schedule after this.

Storywise: heh. Heh heh. Heh heh heh heh heh. Who says DR:AE and DR2 need to be separate games, after all, right? Clever positioning and tactics could enable both at the same time, if that is, indeed, what's happening. Suffice it to say this one's going to be one hell of a wild ride. (A ride which may not be fully anime compliant, since I haven't been able to watch all of what's been out lately. Ah well, hopefully I'm minimally unintentionally AU)

Please review!


	2. Forgotten

Arc I: Group survivalism

Chapter I: Forgotten

XxX

Togami (Slightly before the events of the prologue)

I wasn't certain what first woke me: the sun on my forehead, the sand on my back, or the sea air. Whichever it was, my eyes slowly flickered open, revealing what looked like...Jabberwock Island? I pulled myself upright, examining my surroundings. This was definitely Jabberwock Island-I had traveled here to finalize enough business deals to know the arrangement of islands. Before I could wonder about this more, I heard a voice behind me. A voice that sounded...familiar.

" Good, you're awake. We need to talk."

I turned quickly to see...what looked like a clone of me, albeit overweight. Moments later, I felt a sharp point in my stomach and looked down to see a knife, pressing into me almost hard enough to break the skin.

"Hello, Byakuya. As you can see, we've got a bit of...a problem here. Certain details of what's happening were not given to me. Now, I don't want us to have a problem. Do you want us to have a problem?" The mysterious person's voice was utterly impassive, and their posture barely changed, save to dig the knife a bit more into my skin.

I nodded quickly.

"Then we won't have a problem. What do you need?"

They smirked slightly, their face mirroring an expression I knew my own bore in times of success. Whoever this was, they had done their research.

"I was never here. You never saw anybody fitting my description. Understood?"

"Of course. Are our negotiations concluded?"

They smiled again before motioning to their left with the knife.

"You should head over to the island's center to meet the others. I'll catch up with you in a moment, after I...compose myself."

With that, they quickly turned and stalked away, leaving me confused. Not about the existence of an impostor of some sort-Despair would obviously have use for someone like that, but by their actions. Why wake me, just to tell me to avoid mentioning what I had seen?

A sudden thump behind me caught my attention. I turned to see Touko's body on the sand and knelt quickly, relaxing when I found a pulse. I noticed the paper on her forehead a few moments later.

" _I almost forgot to leave you your friend! I know that you would prefer she stay unharmed, just as you know I'd prefer to stay secret!_

 _-Byakuya Togami."_

XxX

Naegi

As Mukuro and I watched, the two other students pulled themselves upright, looking around. As they stood, I noticed one lump out of the four slowly pull itself to the end of its bearer's sleeve, revealing...a hamster? Strange. Mukuro seemed oddly unsurprised by the hamster, which was almost stranger. I stepped forward towards the two.

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

One of the two looked at me, her greenish-blue eyes piercing enough to halt me in my tracks.

"I am Sonia Nevermind, princess of Novoselic. Are you fellow prisoners or our captors?" Her soft, polite voice belied her cold stare. My eyes widened.

"Fellow prisoners, I think. Just...out of curiosity, has Novoselic gone through any changes recently? Military victories, changes in regime, that sort of thing."

She tilted her head for a moment, thinking.

"I can think of nothing. I am sorry I was unable to help!" She smiled regretfully.

I shrugged.

"You've helped enough. I am Makoto Naegi, by the way."

She nodded as the other student stepped forward.

"I am Gundham Tanaka, bearer of demons and wielder of Hell's powers. I apologize for any impoliteness in hanging back, but I needed to ensure the Divas remained undamaged. Rivals of mine have attempted assassinations of my subordinates before, no matter how brutally I dealt with...others." His grin was predatory, and I could almost see flames dancing in his eyes. There was one strange thing in what he said though.

"The Divas?"

He twitched his arm once, the lumps moving from his sleeves to stand on his shoulders. His aura of danger was certainly...lessened by the four hamsters lounging on him. His next words didn't exactly lessen the contradictory nature of his image.

" The Four Dark Divas of Destruction. My friends, my allies, my tools, my subordinates, they are all of these and none. Cross them at your peril." His voice grew darker at those last words at the same moment that one hamster curled up and licked its paws, looking utterly nonthreatening. All in all, I had no idea what to think. And, judging by his small grin, he liked it that way. With a motion, the hamsters blurred back inside his sleeves.

"So, I have heard your name. Who is your friend?" He pointed at Mukuro. She calmly glanced up at him.

"I am Mukuro Ikusaba, the soldier who has spilled the blood of many and remained unharmed. Let us not deal with names, Taboo King. We are beyond such things as that."

My eyes widened as all three of us looked back at her, seemingly all equally confused. After a moment, she relaxed.

"Sorry, it seems I mistook you for someone else. Don't think anything of it."

I held up a finger.

"Apologies, Sonia and Gundham, I need to ask Mukuro a question or two. Mind giving us a bit of privacy?"

They shook their heads.

"We have things to talk about as well," Nevermind responded.

I turned back to Mukuro, motioning her towards a corner of the room. Once we had taken a few steps away, I bent towards her.

"Were you checking for the same thing I was?"

She nodded.

"Taboo King was the name he went by...before. Seems the two of them have past tense monologues."

"Seems so," I agreed. "What are we going to do about it?"

"I'm not sure."

We turned back to Sonia and Gundham. Before we could step forward, we heard a buzzing voice echoing through the apartment.

" **Are we all introduced? Good, good! Now, I don't have much time to talk, so I'll not be taking any questions. Here's the story: You all have one simple challenge: survival. Work together, if you can. It will be helpful. Without further ado, welcome to part one of Kibougamine's field trip!"**

XxX

Hinata

" **Hel~lo new students! ...Actually, it doesn't look like you're all here yet. Ignore that!"**

A buzzing, robotic voice rang in my ears as my eyes slowly opened. My blurry vision didn't let me see much, but I could tell two things. One, that I wasn't outside the doors to Kibougamine, like I had been a moment ago. Two, there were a few people surrounding me. They were pretty concerned, by the sound of what they were saying.

"Is he ok?"

"He hit his head pretty hard."

"Did he faint? Maybe the air on this island is poisonous! We're all going to die!"

"I hope you die, you ugly idiot!"

"I bet the other students didn't find anything like him."

"S-should I help him? I c-could give him mouth-to-m-mouth?"

My eyes snapped open as I sat up quickly, stammering.

"No-no, that won't be necessary. I'm alright, I think."

My vision gradually swam into focus as the people surrounding me took a step back. I slowly levered myself up to a standing position, glancing around.

"Sorry for scaring you all-suddenly being brought here was quite a shock, you know?"

A boy with what looked like some sort of mechanist's uniform nodded-I felt like I should know his name, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Yeah, Hajime. I think we're all a little surprised. Glad to see you're ok!"

I nodded.

"Thanks for the sympathy, but I don't know who you are. I don't know who any of you are."

His eyes widened.

"But we all just introduced ourselves, Hajime! I'm Kazuichi Soda, remember?"

Another student stepped forward, wearing a nurse's uniform. Her voice was halting and slow, when it came.

"M-maybe he has some sort of amnesia? H-he did hit his head pretty hard, after all...What's the last thing you remember, H-hajime?"

I paused.

"Standing outside Kibougamine before my first day, I think."

- **WRONG-**

I abruptly dropped to the ground, head pulsing with stabbing pains. Images flashed through my mind too quickly for me to follow them. As I collapsed, I caught sight of the nurse leaping forward, barely managing to catch me before my head hit the floor.

"Sorry! I won't ask about memories again!"

I shrugged, grimacing with the sudden pain of the motion.

"That might be for the best," I replied, headache fading as suddenly as it had come. "Mind introducing yourselves again?"

Soda grinned. "Nah. You already know me. The woman taking care of you's Mikan Tsumiki, SDHS Nurse."

"She can talk for herself!" another student interjected indignantly. "God, that's such a male thing to do. Anyway," she turned towards me, looking almost judging. "I'm Mahiru Koizumi, SDHS Photographer. You haven't made such a good first impression, ok? Do better next time."

She turned away, leaving me confused. What, was I supposed to avoid fainting and hitting my head? Before I could respond, another student stepped forward. This one looked a good deal...younger.

"I'm Hiyoko Saionji, SDHS Folk Dancer! I'd say I'm happy to meet you, but my family taught me never to lie!" She curtsied, watching my face. When I didn't react, she shrugged.

"Aww, you're no fun."

The next voice came from behind me, startling me into whirling around.

"You should not be pointlessly cruel, Hiyoko. Ill behavior merely prevents us from achieving our goals. Anyway, I am Peko Pekoyama. Soldier, tool, and SDHS Swordswoman."

The person next to her looked at me intently, the force of his gaze almost pushing me back.

"I'm Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. You got a problem with that?"

I froze for a second.

"Kuzuryu-like the Kuzuryu crime family?"

He grinned.

"Damn right like that Kuzuryu. Play straight with me and we'll get along just fine. Fuck with me?" He gestured expansively. "You don't want to know what happens with people who fuck with me."

I nodded, shaken.

"I'll play straight, don't worry."

Before he could respond, a harsh buzzing noise rang out. Moments later, a screen on a tree near us flickered on, revealing a shadowy figure holding what looked like a toy bear. A toy bear that started talking.

" **Ok, not all of you are together, but all of you are awake, and that will have to do! It's time for me, Monokuma, your wonderful headmaster, to tell you why you are all here. Now, I'm only going to tell you this once, so listen carefully~! This is Kibougamine Academy's annual field trip extraaaavaganza! As you'll all find out shortly, there is no way to leave this chain of islands-that is, unless you graduate. How do you graduate, you ask? Simple! Murder another student and get away with it! If you can leave one of your so-called friends without their so-called lives and nobody's the wiser as to who-dun-it, then you get to leave the island! Of course, there are a few more complications. If you'll all check your pockets, you'll find electronic IDs with all sorts of handy gadgets, including a copy of the full trip rules. Enjoy~! Upupupupupupu..."**

The screen shut off, leaving all of us dead silent. Each of us started looking back at the others, almost able to see the knives in their hands. My mind started racing, trying to figure out how I was possibly going to survive-I needed to survive-I _needed to_ -

"Stop."

We all turned to see a teen in a well cut suit, carrying an unconscious girl over his shoulder.

"My name is Byakuya Togami. And nobody is going to die."

A/N: Here's the first chapter-the story should be more regular about updating from now on. Would people prefer chapters stay split between AE and DR2 perspective, or alternating chapters each focused on a single location?

Please review!


End file.
